These twenty four short stories are ideal for advent reading or whenever you can fit them into the busy month of December. These festive snapshots into other people's lives aim to enliven and entertain. A handful of the stories are set in the recent past, because Christmas is a great time for nostalgia. There are stories about anticipation, hope and that tingling feeling you get when waiting for something pleasant to happen. There is a cast of characters of all ages and not all of them are human. There are themes of time and counting, dark and light, change and renewal. The book is two dozen slices of Christmas, waiting to bring cheer at the dark time of the year.

ONE MAN - ONE PLANET - ONE CHANCE 2557 Humans have been banished from Earth. Forced to live in huge space colonies close to the moon. Earth has become Heaven. The course of mankind has been set towards colonising the universe. The Pax Humana is in full effect. Giant corporations overseen by The Powers control every human necessity from birth until death, those that fail to adhere to the system are summarily executed. Genesis is the new beginning...Xavier Miro is a space rigger, graffiti artist and dissident. A series of dreams leads to an adventure where he will meet Moon Dudes, Shamanic Space Pirates, Galactic Ravers, Zugbots and fall foul of the sinister Shadows. And where he will not only find out the answers to why mankind was expelled from Earth, but why he is the one person that can save humanity.

Title: The Crown of Life.Publisher: British Library, Historical Print EditionsThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the world's largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC.The FICTION & PROSE LITERATURE collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. The collection provides readers with a perspective of the world from some of the 18th and 19th century's most talented writers. Written for a range of audiences, these works are a treasure for any curious reader looking to see the world through the eyes of ages past. Beyond the main body of works the collection also includes song-books, comedy, and works of satire. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library Gissing, George; 1899. 360 p.; 8 . 012622.f.54.

The adventure is over but life goes on for an elf mage just beginning to learn what living is all about. Elf mage Frieren and her courageous fellow adventurers have defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land. But Frieren will long outlive the rest of her former party. How will she come to understand what life means to the people around her? An old enemy returns as Frieren continues her journey north. Decades ago, Frieren and her party defeated a servant of the Demon King called Aura the Guillotine, one of the powerful demons known as the Seven Sages of Destruction. Now Aura is back with a score to settle. But what price did Frieren pay for victory in the past, and how will the choices she made then affect the present?

Mary Lennox was horrid. Selfish and spoilt, she was sent to stay with her uncle in Yorkshire. She hated it. But when she finds the way into a secret garden and begins to tend to it, a change comes over her and her life.

She meets and befriends a local boy, the talented Dickon, and comes across her sickly cousin Colin who had been kept hidden from her. Between them, the three children work astonishing magic in themselves and those around them.

The Secret Garden is one of the best-loved stories of all time.

Introducing The Final Chapter of a three book series. Glitter Girl and Water Girl had just become mission leaders. On a nice beautiful day in Hero World both the girls were just strolling down the streets when all of the sudden they are thrown into a secret island. While on the island they discover that their mission is to uncover the island secrets. Want to read more of H. Madison s books? Don t miss X-Finney Strikes Again and The Most Dangerous Mission ."

The prequel to the supernatural exorcist adventure Jujutsu Kaisen! In a world where cursed spirits feed on unsuspecting humans, fragments of the legendary and feared demon Ryomen Sukuna have been lost and scattered about. Should any demon consume Sukuna’s body parts, the power they gain could destroy the world as we know it. Fortunately, there exists a mysterious school of jujutsu sorcerers who exist to protect the precarious existence of the living from the supernatural! Yuta Okkotsu is a nervous high school student who is suffering from a serious problem—his childhood friend Rika has turned into a Curse and won't leave him alone. Since Rika is no ordinary Curse, his plight is noticed by Satoru Gojo, a teacher at Jujutsu High, a school where fledgling exorcists learn how to combat Curses. Gojo convinces Yuta to enroll, but can he learn enough in time to confront the Curse that haunts him?

'Powerful and impressive ...there is a fine inevitability in the plot structure which gives it true tragic quality' - Dorothy L. SayersAdrian Gray was born in May 1862 and met his death through violence, at the hands of one of his own children, at Christmas, 1931. Thus begins a classic crime novel published in 1933, a riveting portrait of the psychology of a murderer. Each December, Adrian Gray invites his extended family to stay at his lonely house, Kings Poplars. None of Gray's six surviving children is fond of him; several have cause to wish him dead. The family gathers on Christmas Eve - and by the following morning, their wish has been granted. This fascinating and unusual novel tells the story of what happened that dark Christmas night; and what the murderer did next.

A woman granted a superpower discovers it's more trouble than it's worth. A neighbourhood forum becomes the setting for a bizarre ghost story. A children's entertainer wrestles with problems that are nothing to joke about. A harassed dad attempts to meet the challenge of the primary school cake competition. By turns tender and satirical, witty and bizarre, the stories in this debut collection cast a fresh eye on first-world problems. Funny and humane, they zoom in on the absurdities and poignancies in work, family, love and loss in our frenetic modern lives.

Translated by Constance Garnett, with an Introduction and Notes by Agnes Cardinal, Honorary Senior Lecturer in Comparative Literature at the University of Kent. Prince Myshkin returns to Russia from an asylum in Switzerland. As he becomes embroiled in the frantic amatory and financial intrigues which centre around a cast of brilliantly realised characters and which ultimately lead to tragedy, he emerges as a unique combination of the Christian ideal of perfection and Dostoevsky's own views, afflictions and manners. His serene selflessness is contrasted with the worldly qualities of every other character in the novel. Dostoevsky supplies a harsh indictment of the Russian ruling class of his day who have created a world which cannot accomodate the goodness of this idiot.

A cat with attitude, green-fingered garden gnomes, a Roman helmet and two fiercely protective ghosts feature in this delightful anthology. Each tale has been written to accompany a cup of tea and a biscuit, whilst pleasantly disorientating the reader and challenging what they believe to be 'real' for a few moments. When finished, the book will be lovingly replaced on the coffee table leaving the reader smiling to themselves and wondering, 'could that actually happen?'

A haunting exploration of the human psyche, where despair and hope collide in a series of gripping narratives.

Sheldon de Klerk masterfully delves into the lives of individuals teetering on the edge, revealing their deepest fears, darkest secrets and the lengths they will go to find peace. From the chilling tale of a fireman haunted by his deeds to the poignant struggles of a mother facing unimaginable loss, each life story is a testament to the resilience and fragility of the human spirit. This compelling novel invites readers to confront the complexities of life, death and the choices that define us.

A must-read for those seeking a profound and thought-provoking journey into the heart of human emotion.

Knowing beforehand, events past and present without having any prior knowledge can, at times be a disadvantage in some respects and a blessing to be able to see beyond the five physical senses in some others. Not forgetting future events which haven't manifested into the material world can also be predicted by a good medium/clairvoyant - some people have the gift of knowing - intuition and an awareness appears to be a built-in mechanism. Some say it is passed on from a previous life, providing you believe in reincarnation, a third of the world's population believe in this phenomenon - mostly in the Middle- and Far-eastern countries. In some instances you don't have to be with a person to know about their past, present and future events. This doesn't alter my physical condition. I still have heart failure, renal failure and Parkinson's Disease. I appear to be ticking over on medication.